Holding Out For A Hero
by Lucy Maria Elmer
Summary: After a hard day, Melinda realises just what she means to someone. Oneshot.  Thank you to the ladies that sent me reviews for the other version of this. I have no idea what happened to my speech marks, I think it was a formatting problem ick .


**Holding out for a Hero.**

I don't own Melinda and Fin, I'm just playing with them because they rock!

Melinda Warner tiredly left the office in which she had spent the best part of her day; a day that she was supposed to have spent with her family as a bridesmaid at her cousins wedding but had instead spent doing autopsies on the multiple victims of a school shooting; the perp a thirteen year old boy who was suspected to have been sexually abused. Not only had she spent the day examining dead children her own daughters age, something which brought a pain so tremendous to her heart that at times she could barely hold it together, she had had to deliver her findings to the SVU detectives in a custom made ivory gown which had now been completely wasted. Not one of the team had passed comment on her appearance, nor acknowledged that she had done them a favour on a day when there were other commitments that she should have put first. She couldn't help but be a little hurt, and at that moment all that she wanted to do was go home, change, crawl into bed and wait for the day to be over.

As she walked down the steps leading to the side walk she saw a lone figure sat in front of her, his arms wrapped around himself to shield his body from the cold and a hood pulled up over his head so as to hide his features. He hummed a soft tune as he watched the world pass by around him, so immersed in his own thoughts that he barely heard her footsteps behind him. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she made her way quickly down the stairway, wondering why someone would be waiting there...wondering if she was going to get hurt and planning how she was going to defend herself. It was only when she was passing the man that she saw that he was no other than Odafin Tutuola, dressed in a smart blue shirt and tight denim jeans under his hoody and wearing a weary but warm smile just for her.

He stood up as she reached his side, and for the first time since she had met him she saw a shyness pass over his features as he looked at her, drinking in the sight of her standing before him with her soft brown curls filled with small white flowers and the expanse of Ivory gown that he could see under her jacket sitting perfectly upon the contours of her enchanting body. He cleared his throat, and frowned as if trying to remember a speech that he had been rehearsing for hours and then blushed. He was immediately met with a smile.

"I hope you don't mind me sittin' here I just...I know that going to the wedding today meant a lot to you and you missed bein' with your family to help us out. I wanted to say what I should've said to you earlier when I saw you standing there lookin' so beautful at the precinct. You look like an angel Melinda. You woulda outshone the bride today no question and you deserve to be told that." He stated honestly, his voice so soft that she almost had to strain to hear his words.

Melinda felt her cheeks redden at his comment and smiled again as he looked nervously at the pavement, clearly embarrassed that he had at that moment worn his heart on his sleeve in front of one of his closest friends. She walked over to him so that she was standing mere inches away from his body and gingerly cupped his cheek in her palm, caressing it with her thumb as she looked into the deep brown eyes that so often sparkled when they were together in a room.

"You came all the way here to tell me that?" She whispered and she cursed herself as she felt tears forming. "How long have you been waiting?"

"An hour or so." He replied and her heart skipped a beat. "I wasn't sure when you'd be out and I didn't want to disturb you." He quickly explained, and as she heard those words and the consideration that he had given her, she couldn't help but think that she had never met such a quietly gentle man in her life. "I just didn't want you to think that no-one noticed how amazing you are today...what you did for the team...how stunning you look..." He told her, reaching out and running his fingertips through a loose tendril of her hair. "Because I know with the divorce you've been feeling a little unsure of yourself and I can't bear that, because you're perfect to me Mel and I never want to see you unsure of how wonderful you are."

"Fin..." She whispered tearfully, her voice catching in her throat as the raw emotion of the moment hit her.

Fin took off his hoody and laid it on the floor, Melinda's eyes trailing over his torso as he did so and noting the way that the material of his shirt clung to his toned muscles. As a tear rolled down her cheek he pulled his Ipod out of his pocket and selected the song that he had earlier been humming, pulling out the headphones so that its soft tones could be heard by them both. He then took her hand in his and led her down the remaining steps noting as he did so how the tears on her cheeks glistened like diamonds.

"I thought that you might be a little disappointed that you missed the last dance. I was hoping that you'd like to share it with me." He told her and she noticed his hands trembling a little from fear that she would reject him when he was laying his heart out in the open for her to clearly see.

"There's nobody else I would even consider sharing it with." She responded truthfully, placing the hand entwined in her own on her hip and her arms around his neck. "Nobody else comes close." She whispered quietly, resting her head on his shoulder as she wondered what she had done to deserve something so thoughtful.

Oblivious to the world around them the pair swayed in time to the music, brown eyes looking deeply into brown as they danced. Melinda found her fingers tenderly caressing the soft skin on the back of Fins neck while his other hand too came to rest on her waist, marvelling at how perfect her body felt to him...marvelling at the warmth that spread through his just when she smiled. He reached out to her and ran his fingertips over her cheek, then tracing the outline of her lips with the pad of his thumb, her eyes closing as she felt his gentle touch. If anyone had told her that a man like Fin could be so tender she would never have believed them until that night.

"This is possibly the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me Detective." She whispered into his ear as his hand finally came to cradle the back of her head, her lips so close to his body that he shuddered.

"You deserve to know how special you are..." He replied simply, Melinda able to feel his heart wildly beating as their bodies seemed to meld together, wondering if he could feel hers beating just as fast.

"Special to you...?" She probed bravely, looking at the pavement as she too felt suddenly shy, feeling him stiffen under her touch at her words.

"To everyone." He replied and her heart sank. "But especially to me." He added, tilting her chin up so that their gaze once again met and looking deeply into her eyes. "Do you think I would be here if I didn't care about you? Do you think I would be dancing on the sidewalk in front of total strangers if I didn't think that you were the most beautiful creature that I've ever seen? I care about you more than the earth Mel." He told her, and as soon as a hot tear rolled down her cheek he caught it with his thumb. "I have for years, and I wanted to show you how much tonight by being here...by lettin' you know how I feel."

"I care about you too." She admitted tearfully, her heart full. "And you have shown me how much. I don't think I've ever felt so..."

"Loved?" He probed, shyness again overcoming his features.

Melinda pressed her lips to his and placed upon them a gentle kiss.

"Loved." She repeated, resting her hand over his heart. "You know that this isn't our last dance right? It's only the first." She commented, noting the proud smile that appeared on his lips and thinking that she had never seen him looking quite so handsome.

"Sounds good to me." He replied honestly.

"I love you Fin Tutuola." She admitted nervously, burying her face in his chest as she felt like a hormonal teenager.

He smiled and kissed her on the top of her head.

"I love you too." He replied and he meant it, knowing that from that moment on he would never let a day go by when he didn't tell or show the woman that stood before him just how perfect to him she truly was.


End file.
